Day 1
A
couple of my improv friends decided we needed to take a camping trip
up to Lake Sommerville as the Texas summer is approaching fast. Soon
it will be much too hot for tent camping. The trip started as all
great trips do, with a bit of over packing. We had three coolers
which consisted of food and drinks for one full day and two nights.
That in addition to the several grocery bags full of dry goods. No
doubt we could last if a freak storm came up and we were forced to
live in the campgrounds for a while. With the vehicle packed so high
the rear-view mirror was useless, we headed up for the two hour
drive.
We
arrived just as the sun set and picked out our campsite. Joe and
Angie were on "put up the tent" duty and Ellen and I were
on "get some ice for the coolers" duty. Ellen and I
haven't really had much one on one time in our past interactions so
this gave us a great opportunity to get to know each other. Of
course, for me that always means going through the divorce and
answering all the questions that go along with it. By now I have the
routine down.
When
we arrived back with the ice the tent was up and camp was ready to
go. It was completely dark by now so the only thing left to do was
get a campfire going, make s’mores, and have a good time.
Day 2
There
is no sleeping in with camping. As soon as the sun was up so were
we. After breakfast (pancakes) and getting ready it was time to head
down to the lake for some fun in the sun. We drove down to the lake
so we could take out the kayak. The water was just right. It was
cold when you first got in, but great once you submerged yourself and
became acclimated to it. Dolly (Angie's dog) had a great time
playing in the surf. We all took turns in the two person kayak.
Unfortunately, Joe, Angie, and Dolly had some trouble and sank the
kayak. Luckily they were in chest deep water and nothing but their
pride was hurt. It was getting late so we decided to head back to
camp for a late lunch.
For
lunch we did the hamburger and hot dogs thing. It was my first time
using charcoal in a long time. At home, when I grill, I use a gas
grill. So it took a few tries at getting the charcoal going.
Nothing a little (or lot of) lighter fluid could not solve. We were
all pretty wiped out after playing in the lake all morning, so we
relaxed around camp for a bit. We were relaxing at camp when we had
a visit from a female cardinal. Shortly, thereafter several male
cardinals came in and competed for her attention. I tried to take a
picture, but none of them did the scene justice. However, as you can
see when I cropped the female cardinal picture I noticed the massive
snake on the log. Kind of wish we would have noticed that at the
time.
 |
| Wish we would have noticed the big snake on the log. |
After
our rest, we decided to go on a hike. After my barefoot run, and
being barefoot in camp all weekend, I decided to try a barefoot hike.
The asphalt was hot on my feet and the rocks were uncomfortable, but
once we hit the trail I was pretty good. I even went for a barefoot
tree climb. The barefoot part was pretty easy, the climbing up and
down the tree less so. After about 2 miles we decided it was time to
turn around and head back to camp for dinner. I was glad I brought
my Vibrams as my feet were getting a bit sore at this point.
The
day ended much like the first day. Originally we planned on fajitas
but opted for leftover hamburgers and hot dogs. The campfire was
then made and back to s’mores, drinks, and good times.
Day 3
I
awoke in the middle of the night gasping for air. I'm not sure what
happened but my uvula (the little thing that dangles at the back of
your throat) was swollen so large it was resting on my tongue. I
finally got back to sleep only to be awoken by a dog barking. I get
back to sleep again when the neighbors decided to yell at their kids
as they were packing up camp to leave as the sun rose. Once the sun
started to come up it was useless to try to get more sleep so I got
up. Angie had given up about a little earlier, so I joined her and
Dolly. Turns out Angie had the same uvula issue but said after a
coke and some water it went away after an hour or so. After
breakfast (breakfast tacos and bacon), we broke down camp in record
time and headed home. We arrived home just in time to unload, take a
quick shower and head to improv practice.
Everyone
had a great time. It was nice to bond with my friends outside our
usual improv practice and shows. We learned a few things for next
time. Hopefully, we'll get a few more to come along next time.
